Why did Jeff Zeleny go to ABC News?

In recent weeks, ABC News president Ben Sherwood has been courting political reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other outlets in an effort to strengthen the network’s D.C. bureau after a string of recent departures, sources familiar with the network’s plans tell POLITICO. This week, the network announced the hire of Times reporters Jeff Zeleny, who will serve as senior Washington correspondent, and Susan Saulny, who will serve as a correspondent.

“We are always on the hunt for excellent reporters, storytellers and news breakers to complement our powerhouse national affairs team,” Sherwood told POLITICO. “Jeff and Susan are fantastic journalists and we are thrilled to have them join ABC News.”

Sherwood’s motivations are clear: He is eager to bolster ABC’s commitment to political coverage, especially after the loss of political director Amy Walter, senior Washington producer Virginia Moseley and chief White House correspondent Jake Tapper — all three of whom left, for various reasons, within the past three months.

But in an era when broadcast news is struggling to remain relevant, Zeleny’s motivations, in particular, are more uncertain. In the current media environment — where breaking news happens online and CNN, MSNBC and Fox News cover politics around the clock — jumping from an influential post at a prominent newspaper to a television network with no cable outlet is no longer the obvious career move.

“The tables turned a long time ago and the majority of all political news is broken either by reporters at online operations or by the cable networks,” one media industry executive told POLITICO. “The traditional networks are playing catchup, if they’re playing at all.”

By joining ABC News, Zeleny will likely reach a larger audience, but he may forfeit his current influence on the national political conversation. Once a familiar presence on the Times front page and website, Fox News and MSNBC, among other spots, Zeleny will now be the exclusive property of ABC News, a network where weekday programming consists of an entertainment-heavy morning show and a 30-minute nightly news broadcast that, for over a year now, has prioritized human interest stories above hard-hitting political coverage.